Oil-Free, Easy, and Timesaving Caramelized Onions

Name: Oil-Free, Easy, and Timesaving Caramelized Onions
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 5 Onions (chopped or sliced); 1 A heavyweight (3-ply) pot, frying pan, or wok; 1 A heatproof spatula (or rubber spatula)

cookpad.japan @cookpad_jp

I love caramelized onions, but they are pretty tedious to make.
I got the idea for this method last year, when I had to prepare a lot of onions at once and saw how much liquid came out of them. I also did some research online. After several experiments, I came up with this recipe.

All the steps are hints, but pay special attention to Steps 6-9 and Steps 16-19. Read these steps carefully and envision what you're aiming for.
My explanation may not be good enough, but the point is to scrape the onion that gets stuck to the frying pan (the browned bits) with water and condensation. It's really easy. Recipe by *ai*

cookpad.japan @cookpad_jp

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Ingredients

5Onions (chopped or sliced)
1A heavyweight (3-ply) pot, frying pan, or wok
1A heatproof spatula (or rubber spatula)

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Steps

1

Finely chop the onions. Put into a heatproof bowl and drizzle on 1 tablespoon of water. I used 2 medium-sized onions here.
2

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and microwave for 7 minutes at 600 W. The volume will slightly decrease and the onions will become tender.
3

As you can see in the Step 2 photos, not only will the onions become tender, they will also produce a lot of liquid. The microwaving time varies depending on your microwave and how many onions you're cooking.
4

This process is approximate, so use 7 minutes at 600 W for 2 onions as a guideline, and guesstimate how long you need to microwave the onions you're cooking. Also refer to Step 19.
5

Put the onions in a heavy weight pot or frying pan and cook over high heat. Have 500 ml of water ready to go in a measuring cup.
6

Spread the onions evenly in the pan. Occasionally stir them up in a S-pattern. Evaporate the moisture, taking care not to let the onions burn.
7

Keep cooking until there's no moisture left in the pan. Make sure that some of the onion is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
8

The onion may appear as if close to burning. If so, add 30-50 ml water.
9

After adding the water, stir up the pan in an S-pattern. When the water and onion are well combined, keep cooking and repeating Steps 7 to 8, stirring occasionally.
10

When stirring the pan, make sure you are scraping off any onion and brown bits that are stuck to the bottom.
11

Add 30-50 ml water again, as in Step 9, and stir in an S-pattern. Scrape off any bits of onion stuck to the sides of the pan, too.
12

Repeat Steps 6 to 11, and cook the onions to the caramelized state you like. Gradually, the onions will start to brown when you add water.
13

These browned bits are the sugar in the onions that have caramelized. This is the umami of caramelized onions.
14

While it depends on the number of onions you use, how strong the heat of your hob is, and the timing of adding water, it should take about 13 to 18 minutes from Step 5, and after that, you shouldn't have any problems.
15

If you want to turn the onions into a brown paste, keep repeating the steps and it'll get there quite fast.
16

Key point 1: Add the water only when the onion stuck to the pan has started to brown. If you add the water too early, it will take more time to caramelize.
17

Key point 2: Aim the water at the spot in the pan where the onions are the most browned.
18

Sometimes that spot is on the side of the pan, but if you use the water to clean the surface, the water will turn brown and the onions will caramelize faster.
19

Here I used 4 onions, and thinly sliced them rather than chopping them. I microwaved them for 12 minutes at 600 W, with 2 tablespoons water.
20

I cooked the onions on the highest setting of my hob, and it took 19 minutes to caramelize them. For up to 6 onions, I use a frying pan.
21

Here, I cooked 8 onions in the same way in a wok. If it's your first time, make a manageable amount in a frying pan.
22

If you use a lot of onions, they will take slightly longer to cook, but this method is very easy.
23

I used to caramelize onions the conventional way: over low heat, stirring constantly.
24

But with this method, there won't be any unevenness even without using oil. You can produce top-quality caramelized onions with ease.
25

Great for onion soup gratinée of course, as well as in curries and stews.
26

Or use them in tomato sauce, pasta sauce, or hamburgers.
27

Make a large batch and freeze in 1-onion portions and it becomes even more convenient ^^ Prepare these oil-free caramelized onions and use them in various recipes.